The history of the Mexican drug cartels. The most criminal city in the world Mexican police

Sharing my impressions of my trip to Mexico, I have already written about its originality. I would also like to tell you about the social landscape of the country, about its hardships and troubles in this area. You can feel the peculiarities right away, even on the streets of Mexico City. They are always crowded: there are too many unemployed. There is a queue for unskilled work.

In the metro, airports, shops, the floors are almost glistening - a whole army of cleaners is wielding rags faster than any machine guns. In museums, instead of pensioners, as we are used to here, strong young guys are sitting in the halls as caretakers: at least some money can be earned. They also pay in the army, so there is no end to those who wish, especially from the villages. And besides, there are many folk musicians, jugglers, acrobats, magicians, beggars. Usually they arrange a micro-performance at an intersection - they manage to run around a dozen cars with a cap, taking advantage of the fact that traffic signals rarely change our way, sometimes after 3-5 minutes.

Or such a scene: a thin boy topless enters a subway car, spreads a rag on the floor with broken glass and fits on her first with his back, then with his chest, and then, with droplets of not caked blood, bypasses the carriage - can you not serve it?

Newspaper sections "required" do not hesitate to invite a bricklayer, secretary, painter for 600 pesos, although this is illegal, since the minimum wage is 1200 pesos per month (they write, allegedly for half a day). But what is typical, foreigners will not be allowed to their workplaces.

Of course, what has been said applies only to the poor peasants, the middle class, the "middle", has completely different money. For example, a successful professor can earn more than 100 thousand pesos a month. "Scissors" are very significant, so it is unrealistic to give estimates "cheap-expensive". The poor eat simply: tortillas, milk, beans, peppers, vegetable oil. And they drink a lot of Coca-Cola - 2-3 times more than the Americans. From alcohol, beer is preferred. In addition to the fact that the heat is not conducive to strong drinks, tequila is also five times more expensive than our vodka.

The street party in the city center, in parks, on the university campus is lively, free, colorful; it lacks the energetic impetuosity and gloomy concentration of the morning streams of European subways. Women are attractive, many can be called beauties, if not for the almost universal traditional spreading and weighting of figures down from the waist (however, other points of view are also legitimate).

Where there is poverty, there is lack of education. In the metro, next to the names of the stations, pictures are required: "Medical Center" - a blue cross, "Juarez" - his portrait, "Balderis" - a cannon. This is for the illiterate, there are quite a few of them among the young (however, literate people also like it - a person generally tends to say goodbye).

“We are turning this thesis around: where there is illiteracy, there is poverty. No matter how much you benefit the poor, money will go to the sand, and an educated person will solve many problems on his own,” says Cecilia Loria, Minister of Education and Culture of the State of Quintana Roo. Listening to the minister is not only interesting, but also pleasant, because Senorita Cecilia is also a charming woman with a Hollywood smile and tired eyes: “Education reform must go ahead of other reforms, as it was in Japan and Germany after the war. percent of Indians who do not speak Spanish, and our first task is to make education truly universal, with equal opportunities.We also care about quality, you saw in the school series the thick volumes of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, they are perhaps the most revered after Cervantes. Not everyone knows that we are the first in the world in the production of TVs and cars ("started", I thought), it would seem that there are a lot of jobs, but these factories are foreign, they do not let us into high-tech (that is, high technologies), and the profit goes from the country".

What's true is true. I got in touch with the president of the Congress of Metallurgists, Professor Tomayo, to fly for half a day to the oilmen in the Gulf of Mexico, he consults them on underwater welding. The view from the helicopter is amazing! But that’s not what we are talking about: the platform is Norwegian, the Americans are in charge of the pipelines, the Mexicans are in charge of the Karla Pope. “And among our students,” says Cecilia, “the most prestigious specialty is 'commercial engineer': he has just enough knowledge to be quick when selling American goods - from computers to toilet paper. That is why our wealth is 60- 70 percent are exported from the country unprocessed. "

Something about Mexicans

There are 270 thousand students at the National University of Mexico City, 180 thousand at the Polytechnic Institute. The scale! But the trouble is that the "educators" themselves are not very educated: 70 percent of school teachers do not have a licentiate (initial university 4 years), and many university teachers have not completed a full course and do not even have a first degree (it sounds charming here - " maestro ", not that -" candidate of sciences "). There is no need to talk about doctors of sciences - their whole Mexico prepares less than one University of Texas at Austin.

Each new Mexican president invariably promises to defeat the country's two main plagues: poverty and corruption. Poverty is visible to the naked eye. The highest echelons of society cannot be reached, but the fact that, for example, the entire rent is paid in black cash without deductions to the state, or that some professor works full-time in three or four universities at the same time and does not appear in any one, sending graduate students instead, so this is not considered corruption in our country either. What to write about?

But what really is and goes hand in hand with these vices is crime. The Unidads employ guards, but entrance doors the apartments are metal anyway. Single houses are protected by intercoms and concierges (usually men). The villas have security guards, rottweilers, electronics, live thorns. And nevertheless they are robbed and robbed. But there is also a street. When a purse is taken out of your pocket in a swarm of metro or market, this can be understood and taken into account for the future. But when in broad daylight a bus is stopped right in the city and three or four young people "quickly, but slowly" rob passengers and the driver - how do you like that? I was warned, money to buy luggage in a sock, I did this for two days, then asked: "And" they "don't know that?" Of course they do. Therefore, in the presence of a large amount, it is recommended to keep a "distracting" wallet with 200 pesos in a conspicuous place (less of "them" will offend) in several bills (so that it does not look like a bribe). Alas, "they" know it too.

Cars are not only stolen, but also taken away. I have already said that "red" can burn for about five minutes, and at this time a teenager comes up to the car for alms, but suddenly opens the door (do not yawn), two of his friends with knives appear nearby - a "change" occurs: they are in the car you are on the sidewalk.

The sensitive topic of drugs does not sound exactly like it does in our media. "Yes, almost every day the front page news is the arrest of a major drug carrier, or the discovery of a secret tunnel under the border with Texas. Every year tens of thousands of drug couriers are imprisoned, and what changes? No government can calm a handful of guerrillas (bandits?) Guatemala. Why? "Because billions of dollars are spinning in this business, and they settle where drugs are sold, in the States, that is. Their bosses subsidize our "National Liberation Front", and if you read in the newspapers that the American authorities sent helicopters and instructors "to help" us, keep in mind - this is for the control and protection of the drug highways. As for the drugs themselves, our ancestors regularly used marijuana as a sedative from a natural medicine cabinet. Remember, Mexico also gave tobacco to the world, and the first smoker in Europe was Leonardo da Vinci, that's it. "

Big Brother is near

For the last seventy years, the Party of Revolutionary Institutionalism has ruled the country unchanged, almost without alternative, ("you cannot trample on the PRI"). In the 1930s, especially under the strong President Cardenas, oil production was nationalized, social reforms began, and harsh statements about foreign policy independence were made. All - with a bang. But time passes, the world changes, everything becomes boring. V last years PRI leaders were not called “mastodons” and “gerontocrats”, and the National Activity Party, representing pragmatic businessmen, won the 2000 elections. Its leader Vicente Fox, previously the director of the Mexican branch of Coca-Cola, became its president for the next 6 years. Its orientation towards a powerful northern neighbor is obvious. The President claims: "The results of the elections are a mandate to carry out reforms," ​​but he is not so free in his actions. Here is a recent scandal: the president was going to go to the USA and Canada, but the parliament objected, they say, a waste of money, and - did not go!

Relations between Mexico and the United States began to take shape in the first quarter of the 19th century. In 1821, after 11 years of bloody struggle, the independence of Mexico from Spain was proclaimed, and the United States was the first to recognize the new republic, in fact, challenging all European owners of the West Indian colonies and the formidable Holy Alliance. Mexico appreciated the gesture; it tried to imitate its neighbor in everything, who had won its independence 45 years earlier. The new republic began to be called the "United States of Mexico" (now there are 31 of them), adopted a constitution, declared universal equality of citizens, and curtailed the power of the church.

When Spain was significantly pushed back and weakened, friction began between neighbors. The vigorous US expanded to the west and south and at first was quite content with the de facto seizure of Mexican territories. American settlers colonized unpopulated lands without worrying too much about violating borders and relying on the power of only their own Colt - it was in the 1840s that this multiply charged miracle went among the people, "making everyone equal." But as soon as the Mexican parliament kicked up, the cowboys kicked up. In 1847, the expeditionary corps of General W. Smith (the future candidate for the presidency of the United States) landed in Veracruz and, almost without encountering resistance, moved to Mexico City. In the capital, near the Chapultapec castle, a "battle" took place with cadet boys, during which one of them, wrapped in a Mexican flag, threw himself out of the window in despair. Today the Monument to the Hero-Children is one of the most visible and revered in the city.

According to the peace treaty, Texas and part of Upper California now and de jure went to the United States - Mexico did not have the strength to fight for them any longer, and the authorities convinced themselves that these desert lands far from the capital were not so attractive (who could have foreseen then, that oil will be discovered in Texas, and Hollywood in California?). In 1861 - a new attack: England inspired Spain and France to get even with Mexico for the old. The timing was right: the United States was overwhelmed by the Civil War and had no time for upholding the Monroe Doctrine. And this time the expeditionary force repeated the "path of Cortez": landing in Veracruz and march to Mexico City. The republic was liquidated, Maximilian, a prince of the Austrian Habsburgs, the author of a couple of books on the study of the palace politeness, was imprisoned as emperor.

But this time Mexico did not "lay down". President Benito Juarez retreated with the army inland, at the same time 33-year-old General Porfirio Diaz, in the future the famous dictator of Mexico for almost 35 years, stood out among his entourage. But the interventionists did not go well - there was something vaudeville in the idea of ​​bringing the monarchy from Europe to tropical America in the second half of the 19th century. England "jumped" from the event before its start, the Spaniards set off home in a year, the French - in 5 years. For the abandoned connoisseur of court etiquette, who blissfully believed in the love of "subjects", the time has come, which is best characterized by the words - "hangover in someone else's feast." Vaudeville spilled over into drama: in June 1867, Maximilian and his wife Charlotte were shot by patriots in the Querétar Hills.

Note that the United States, having completed its internal "showdown", since 1865 has been actively involved in the expulsion of the French. And after the Spanish-American War of 1898, when the United States took the Philippines and Puerto Rico from Spain, the whole world, and Mexico too, it became finally clear who was the boss on the American continent. In my room on the nightstand is a sumptuously decorated "Mexico" published in Miami. The short historical sketch contains the following sections: "Colonial era - Independence - French intervention - Revolution - Today". But what about the war of 1846-48, in which Mexico lost half of its territory in favor of the United States? I answer: history is made not by heroes and not by the masses, history is made by historians, in this case - American.

In 1994, Mexico signed the North America Free Trade Agreement (TLCAN, or NAFTA, in English). Then the nationalists shouted about the surrender of positions and the loss of sovereignty. However, Mexico survived the 1995 financial crisis only thanks to US assistance.

It is believed here that Fox's presidency began a long process of integrating Mexico into the US economy. Americans are very supportive of Mexican resorts, which is why, in addition to the world-famous Acapulco, about fifteen years ago, they began to upset Cancun especially "for the Americans". Now there are more than a hundred luxury hotels on the local coast. It is convenient to have a "fiesta" close at hand, and here there is a ferry from Florida. In return, 15 million Mexicans, including seasonal workers and illegal immigrants, work in the United States. It is they, not oil, that provide the main dollar receipts to the country.

But with all this, somehow surprisingly steadfastly Mexicans retain their racial identity. They know the history of the country well, adore their nature and difficult climate, prefer tequila to other strong drinks, in families, even intelligent ones, Americans are called "gringos", and "just Mary" does not strive to become Mary.

In December 2006, Mexico's newly elected Felipe Calderon declared war on drug cartels, thus ending the state's passivity on this issue. Some progress has been made since then, but at a cost. Shootouts, murders, kidnappings, conflicts between rival cartels, punitive measures. Since December 2006, about 9,500 people have been killed as a result of anti-drug activities, up from more than 5,300 in the last year alone.

Ammunition confiscated from members of the Pacifico drug cartel at the Mexico City airport. March 12, 2009. (REUTERS / Jorge Dan Lopez)

An American police officer in a seized greenhouse in the basement of a ranch in Tecate, Mexico. March 12, 2009. (REUTERS / Jorge Duenes)

A police officer walks among packages of cocaine in Buenaventura, Colombia's main port on the Pacific coast. Monday 23 March 2009 Colombian police seize 3.5 tons of cocaine that they were trying to smuggle into Mexico in a container of vegetable oil. (AP Photo / Fernando Vergara)

Yanet Deinara Garcia (center) and Zigifrido Najera (2nd from left), members of the Cardenas Guillen drug cartel, attend a press presentation at the Defense Minister's headquarters in Mexico City. March 20, 2009. (LUIS ACOSTA / AFP / Getty Images)

Mexican suspect Vicente Zambada Niebla during a meeting with the media in Mexico City, March 19, 2009. Police said Zambada was arrested along with five other suspects. Money and weapons were found on the arrested. (REUTERS / Daniel Aguilar)

Soldiers guard a police station in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Monday, March 16, 2009 - With a population of 1.3 million mostly military in law enforcement, a retired officer was appointed as an accomplice to the police chief after the previous chief of the police department resigned, succumbing to threats drug dealers. (AP Photo)

Federal police officers aboard a plane during a flight to the border town of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Monday, March 2, 2009. This contingent transfer is part of a plan to increase the law enforcement presence in Ciudad Juarez by 5,000 as the city suffers from a dominance of organized crime. (AP Photo / Miguel Tovar)

A soldier watches the burning of fourteen tons of drugs in the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. December 2, 2008. (J. Guadalupe PEREZ / AFP / Getty Images)

Police drive past a burning patrol car in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - In the Pacific resort town of Zihuatanejo, gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at a patrol car, killing four police officers. (AP Photo / Felipe Salinas) #

Mexican police officers near a car containing two people killed in a shootout. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. November 25, 2008. (J. Guadalupe PEREZ / AFP / Getty Images)

Corpse on the table in the morgue before autopsy. Tijuana, Mexico. Monday, January 19, 2009. (AP Photo / Guillermo Arias) #

Federal police patrol the city of Ciudad Juarez. March 2, 2009. Hundreds of armed forces and police convoys patrolled Ciudad Juarez in an attempt to restore order in one of the most brutal cities in the world. (REUTERS / Tomas Bravo)

Mexican soldiers check documents as they search for drugs and weapons in Reynosa, on Mexico's northeastern border with the United States, March 17, 2009. (AP Photo / Alexandre Meneghini) #

The tourist leaves the hotel. A policeman is on guard nearby - one of the participants in the bomb disposal operation at a departmental institution in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. The news that a bomb was planted in the building prompted local police and federal forces to launch the operation, local media reported. (REUTERS / Tomas Bravo)

Mexican soldiers check vehicles and perform customs clearance at customs checkpoints near the town of Miguel Aleman, on Mexico's northeastern border with the United States. March 18, 2009. (AP Photo / Alexandre Meneghini) #

Mexican soldier on the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. March 6, 2009. (AP Photo / Miguel Tovar) #

Soldiers patrol an area near the town of Miguel Aleman, on Mexico's northeastern border with the United States, March 19, 2009. (AP Photo / Alexandre Meneghini) #

Shoes used to smuggle marijuana at the Drug Museum at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Mexico City, March 9, 2009. The museum exhibits many exhibits: sniper guns, mobile and radio telephones inlaid with gold and diamonds, clandestine drug laboratories and many other items. that once belonged to drug dealers. (REUTERS / Jorge Dan Lopez)

President of Texas Armoring Corp. Trent Kimball examines the bulletproof glass produced by his company, which had bullet marks from the previous shelling. San Antonio, February 26, 2009. As clashes with drug traffickers in northern Mexico have increased, American companies have increasingly ordered armored cladding, bulletproof glass along with armor cladding, bulletproof glass and such security gadgets, electronic doorknobs and the smoke screens are pressed. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

Sunrise over a canal near El Centro, California. March 12, 2009. El Centro recorded the highest unemployment rate in the United States: 22.6%. This is the same high rate that was recorded during the Great Depression. Especially now it is hard for Latinos. People living in the Imperial Valley, in the desert north of the US-Mexico border and east of San Diego, are now suffering not only from the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but also from drought. (David McNew / Getty Images)

Released Central American migrants held hostage by members of a Mexican gang in Reinosa, Mexico March 17, 2009. According to the Mexican army, more than 50 migrants are currently held captive by a gang that is kidnapping for ransom. (AP Photo / Alejandro Meneghini) #

Forensic investigators remove one of the nine corpses found in the vicinity of the border town of Ciudad Juarez on March 14, 2009. Local media reported that an anonymous person called the police and reported that at least nine bodies were found in a shallow grave. (REUTERS / Alejandro Bringas)

A man arrested by the military at a house where a gang was holding Central American migrants hostage. Reynosa, Mexico, March 17, 2009. (AP Photo / Alexandre Meneghini) #

The examining magistrate examines the vertebra and other bone fragments. This is all that was left of the human body, which was burned in a barrel of acid. The murder matches the handwriting of El Teo, one of Tijuana's most wanted nakrobarons. (Los Angeles Times photo by Don Bartletti)

A border patrol vehicle levels the sand to show the traces of potential border trespassers. New prefabricated stair railings have been installed along the Mexican border between Yuma, Arizona and Calexico, California. March 14, 2009. (David McNew / Getty Images) #

Newly built fence on the border between the United States and Mexico. Photo taken at dawn on March 14, 2009, between Yuma, Arizona and Calexico, California. A new 15-foot (4.5-meter) boom has been installed on top of the sand dunes so that it can be lifted and repositioned when the migrating dunes begin to fill it up. Almost seven miles (11 km) of such a fence was installed at a cost of $ 6 million per mile. (David McNew / Getty Images)

Numbered boxes of evidence collected from multiple autopsies. Morgue in the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. February 18, 2009. (AP Photo / Eduardo Verdugo) #

Corpses in the refrigerator of a morgue in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. Mexico, February 18, 2009. (AP Photo / Eduardo Verdugo)

In the foreground is a .50 caliber rifle. In the background - a meeting is being held on issues at the Mexican border. The meeting is attended by representatives of the US Department of Homeland Security and the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. Thursday, March 12, 2009, Capitol Hill, Washington DC. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)

Soldiers escort drug lord Hector Huerta-Rios at an air force base in Salinas Victoria, on the outskirts of Monterrey, northern Mexico. March 24, 2009. Hector, head of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, was captured by the military on Tuesday. He is charged with the murder of the Monterrey police chief. Huerta Rios was captured along with five of his entourage. Money and weapons were found on the arrested. (REUTERS / Tomas Bravo)

Shot in the head by unidentified assailants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 11, 2009. (AP Photo / Miguel Tovar) #

A police officer scans the field after the shootout in search of weapons. Tijuana, Mexico. Monday, March 9, 2009. (AP Photo / Guillermo Arias) #

The number of casualties is no less striking than the sight of the bodies of dead people hanging from the highway overpasses. Between 2006 and 2012, more than 77,000 people died in Mexico due to drug-related violence, according to BBC News. An article published by the Stanford Review entitled A Brewing Storm: Mexican Drug Cartels and the Growing Violence on Our Border indicates that homicide statistics indicate drug-related increased 300 percent between 2007 and 2008. Mexican drug cartels are terrible and use every means to achieve their goals, from beheadings and torture to human trafficking and massacres. Warring cartels fight for control of territory and drug supply routes. Loyalties change, people pay bribes, former adversaries forge alliances to fight new groups and wage war with each other.

The former president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, has declared a Reagan-style war on drugs and drug cartels, instructing the army to capture the leaders of the drug cartels. The current president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, is taking a different approach in tackling local violence. Nieto also said that local and state authorities will no longer work directly with the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration when it comes to disclosing classified information. Corruption has long been a problem in Mexican law and the military, making it even more difficult for the country to end cartel violence. One thing is for sure: until the demand for drugs disappears, cartels will fight to control the supply. Below are the seven deadliest drug cartels in Mexico:

7. Tijuana Cartel

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Tijuana Cartel, run by the Arellano Felix brothers, was one of the largest and most formidable groups in Mexico. At the height of its power, the cartel infiltrated Mexican law enforcement and the judiciary. He oversaw the transportation and distribution of multi-ton consignments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The cartel was notorious for excessive violence. In 1998, Ramon Arellano ordered an attack that killed 18 people in Baja, California. However, starting in 2006, the Sinaloa Cartel took control of most of the territory that was once under the control of the Tijuana group. Although the Tijuana Cartel still exists, due to several deaths, arrests, internal conflicts and the growing power of the Sinaloa, it has shrunk to a small group of scattered cells.

6. New Juarez Cartel


The Juarez cartel, located on the Mexican-US border near El Paso, Texas, has long been a major player in the US cocaine trafficking. The Juarez cartel, also known as the Vicente Carillo Fuentes Organization, made weekly profits of $ 200 million until the death of Amado Carillo Fuentes in 1997, which marked the beginning of the group's decline. In September 2011, the Mexican Federal Police announced that the crime syndicate was now called the New Juarez Cartel. He has an armed force known as La Linea, a street group known for decapitating enemies, desecrating their bodies, and dumping them in public places to spread panic and fear. The main rival of the New Juarez Cartel is the Sinaloa cartel, which many believe currently retain control over much of the drug trade in the city of Juarez. In 2012, 2,086 people were killed in shootouts over the territory, according to CNN, their killings in the city of Ciudad Juarez still remain unsolved.

5. Knights Templar

Drug cartels are in constant confrontation trying to prove who to fear most. The first victim of the Templar cartel was hanged over an overpass with a note claiming the man was the kidnapper, instantly giving them a reputation as a group as brutal as a barbarian syndicate. The cartel got its name from the Medieval Templars who defended Jerusalem and according to journalist Ioan Grillo's book El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, the Templar cartel claims to be protector of the state of Michoacan.

The group formed in 2010 following the alleged death of Nazario Moreno, leader of the La Familia Michoacana cartel. The Knights Templar announced themselves by displaying more than 40 drug addicts or drug cartel banners across the state that said, "We maintain and protect order, prevent robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and keep the state safe from a rival organization." According to Ioan Grillo, this heroic, illegal, Robin Hood approach to crime and community has led to members of the Templar cartel being considered celebrities. The cartel controls operations in Michoacan, Morelos and the state of Mexico. Their last showdown was with the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which is trying to gain control of Michoacan.

4. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or Mata Zetas


The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was founded in 2009. According to the International Business Times news portal, three men were found killed in an abandoned truck with a note that read: “We are the new Mata Zeta group, we are against kidnapping and extortion, and we will fight this in all states for a cleaner Mexico. ". In 2010, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel expanded its rhetoric and declared war on all other Mexican cartels, announcing its intention to take over Guadalajara. The cartel is currently fighting Los Zetas for control of the city, as well as for control of the states of Jalisco and Veracruz.

In 2011, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel took charge of what was dubbed the Veracruz Massacre. Thirty-five bodies were found on a dirt road near the shopping center. The cartel also claimed responsibility for 67 murders the following day. In response to the violence and executions, the Mexican government launched an army-led campaign called Operation Veracruz Seguro.

3. Gulf Cartel


Founded in 1930 by the smuggler Juan Nepomunceno Guerra, the Golfo Cartel is considered the oldest criminal organization in Mexico. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, "the Golfo cartel is responsible for transporting multi-ton consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana from Colombia, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico to the United States." The organization is also involved in money laundering, bribery, extortion, and arms trafficking.

After the split with Los Zetas (it is unclear which of the two cartels started the conflict that led to the collapse), the power of the Golfo cartel weakened somewhat. He has survived the loss of important leaders, and the struggle itself has resulted in several deaths and arrests in Mexico and the United States. However, according to news portal InterAmerican Security Watch, the Golfo cartel still maintains control of its main smuggling corridors in the United States.

2. Los Zetas


According to the US government, Los Zetas is the most technologically advanced, complex and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico. In 1999, special forces from the elite forces of the Mexican army deserted, founded Los Zetas and began to cooperate with the Golfo cartel. The name Los Zetas comes from the tactical radio call sign for commanders in the Mexican army.

By 2010, Los Zetas had split from the Golfo cartel and, according to Ralph Reyes, head of the Mexico-Central American counter-narcotics division, “took the lead in most drug-related killings, beheadings, kidnappings; and extortion that take place in Mexico. " Since the San Fernando massacre, which killed 193 people until the 2008 Morelia grenade attack, which killed eight people and injured more than 100 people, Los Zetas have carried out several high-profile attacks on civilians. and members of other gangs. Today, Los Zetas controls 11 Mexican states and continues to train new mercenaries through several campaigns.

1. Sinaloa Cartel


According to US intelligence, the Snaloa Cartel, also known as the Pacific Cartel or the Guzman-Loera organization, is the most powerful drug cartel in the world. According to the US Attorney General, the Sinaloa cartel is responsible for the import of more than 200 tons of cocaine into the United States between 1990 and 2008. Despite the Sinaloa cartel leaving 14 severed heads in boxes in front of the mayor's office in Nuevo Laredo in 2012, the cartel leader El Chapo preferred "bribery over bullet."

Until 2008, the Sinaloa cartel was mainly associated with territories in the Golden Triangle, which includes the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua. However, that year the syndicate moved to the state of Ciudad Juarez and began a bloody war for territory with the local cartel led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. The conflict has left 5,000 deaths and, despite the fact that former Mexican President Felipe Calderón sent waxes to quell the violence, Juarez has become the most dangerous city in the world. The Sinola cartel controls 17 Mexican states.

We decided to tell you about the most criminal and dangerous corner on our planet. What do you think is the most undesirable region to visit and live in? For example, every third crime committed on the planet occurs in Latin America. This is the highest rate. Even higher than in the most disadvantaged countries of the African continent.

Latin America has two sides of the coin. On the one hand, these are beautiful beaches, almost eternal summer (if you do not take into account the south South America), a variety of fruits, carnivals, smiles and football. On the other hand, there is the most severe crime: robbery, murder, drugs.

Why did it happen that in such a wonderful corner there is the most criminogenic situation? Coca plants, which are considered traditional for the native peoples of America, grow very well in this climate. A derivative product, cocaine, is naturally obtained from them. Drug trafficking is billions of dollars. And where there is big money, there are big problems.

So, a city that has an important strategic location in the distribution of drugs is located in Mexico and is called. Mexico has the largest concentration of crime in any given country. The drugs themselves are produced to the south - mainly in Colombia. All traffic north to the States passes through Mexico. This is where the secret of the situation in the region lies - the struggle of drug cartels among themselves for influence in the cities through which drug trafficking goes.

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City trip

Ciudad Juarez is located in the very north of Mexico on the border with the United States and stands on one side of the Rio Grande. On the opposite side is the city of El Paso, Texas.

On the one hand, the location close to the borders with the United States gives the city advantages, such as the rapid development of the economy, on the other, a constant war between groups wishing to control the flow of drugs.

2009-2010 saw the largest peak in homicides, and the local police were mired in corruption. Then the local citizens said that if the authorities of the country did not put things in order in the city, then they themselves would take up this matter. Since then, the government has systematically tackled the problem in the city.

They significantly cleaned the ranks of the police and led a regular army of about 8 thousand fighters into the city. Since then, slowly but surely, signs of order have appeared on the streets of the city.

In 2009, the city was 25% ahead of Caracas and New Orleans in crime (2nd and 3rd place):

The vehicle in which three men were shot by gunmen in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico:

Since 1993, women have been constantly being killed in the city, and according to estimates for 2012, there are already 700 such victims, and up to 4 thousand are still missing. The nature of the crimes is practically the same - rape and dismemberment. Alleged motives for the crimes - so called, developed in Mexico, machismo(aka male chauvinism) as well as criminal showdowns among the same groups implicated in drugs.

Eight women killed in 1996 were found at this place:

In 2010, a third of all murders in Mexico were in Ciudad Juarez. Since 2012, statistics have shown that the homicide rate is falling.

Police restrain a woman who saw a murdered relative in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico:

Bienvenida a mexico

And if you still wanted to get to this land and plunge into this atmosphere? Then we will tell you how to get to this city.

In order to get to Ciudad Juarez, you need to do several steps:

• 1) Get a Mexican visa;
• 2) Buy plane tickets;
• 3) Get to the terrain.

Visa for Mexico

In total, there are three legal ways to obtain permission to enter this Latin American country.

The first and most standard is the usual visa application at the embassy.

The second method, which has become more and more popular in the world in recent years, is the issuance of electronic tourist visas, which can be obtained without leaving your computer. The third way is to have a valid US visa, yes, you read that right, this is how Mexicans treat their northern neighbors and their guests.

The easiest way is obtaining an electronic visa... There is no need to go to the embassy and collect a package of documents, confirmation of solvency, certificates from work, pay the consular fee, and so on.

All you need to get an e-visa is to follow this link, where you just need to fill out a form in Russian. Then wait 15 minutes and for email an answer will come, in 99% of cases positive. Then we print the e-visa that came to your mailbox. You will need to present it at the airport upon landing and at the border control at the airport in Mexico.

Three important notes on e-Visa:

• The e-visa is free;
• The printed document must be kept until leaving the country, otherwise there may be problems at the airport;
• With an electronic visa, you can enter the country only through air checkpoints, by land from adjacent countries or by ship, entry is prohibited.

Air ticket

To buy a plane ticket, you can use the service for searching and comparing air tickets and choose the best way on dates convenient for you.

The average cost of a round-trip flight from Moscow to Mexico City will cost $ 900-1000. You can find options for 750-800 dollars, in general, use the search for air tickets and you will be happy.

Get to the terrain

The distance from the capital of Mexico to Ciudad Juarez in a straight line is 1542 kilometers. You can get there using the services of local airlines Aeromexico, tickets start at $ 130 for a round-trip flight, if you buy one way, the cost will be about $ 70. Travel time is 2 hours 35 minutes.

Accommodation in the city can be rented from $ 10 per night per person in a double room.

The low standard of living of a significant part of the local population contributes to the emergence of numerous criminogenic elements in the country. Therefore, crime in Mexico is not only the drug mafia and corrupt officials, but also petty thieves, swindlers, kidnappers, blackmailers, etc. The degree of safety largely depends on the specific region of the country or area of ​​the city, however, you should always remember about precautions.

The most dangerous regions of the country and disadvantaged areas of cities

The most dangerous states are Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Guerrero, Baja California, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Veracruz. These are mainly northern territories, with the exception of Guerrero, Michoacan and Veracruz. The rampant crime here is associated with two factors: drug trafficking and illegal migration across the Mexican-American border. Coupled with a corrupt police force, the environment certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

The high crime rate in the southern and eastern states is associated with the low living standards of the population, for which drug trafficking sometimes becomes the only means of survival.

The authorities strongly discourage tourists from traveling through dangerous areas, especially alone. Here you run the risk of being robbed, kidnapped or killed simply because you have gold jewelry, some cash, an expensive camera or a good car. The low standard of living and the high concentration of unreliable citizens make even an ordinary walk along the streets dangerous in these areas. It does not matter at all whether you are associated with criminal organizations or not.

Criminal and disadvantaged areas of Mexico City

Despite a fairly high standard of living and good police work, there are dangerous places in the capital of Mexico. The city is a "patchwork quilt" on which rich and poor quarters are mixed around the tourist center.

Tepito is a metropolitan area favored by buyers of stolen goods, pimps, drug dealers. It is located literally 15 minutes walk from the parliament. Tepito's calling card is the showdown of local groups, invariably accompanied by stabbing and skirmishes. Tourists often disappear here. Not surprisingly, even local taxi drivers won't take you deep into the area.

And, finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is about the debtor's status that it is easiest to “forget” when going on the next overseas vacation. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid utility bills, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018, we recommend that you find out information about the availability of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf

Districts of Mexico City such as Ciudad Asteca, Guerrero, Peravia, Istapalapa, La Paz, Istapaluca, Nesavalkootl also enjoy a bad reputation.

Cuidad de Basura (Garbage City) is an area that is not on the map. And yet it has its own transport, waste processing business, canteens and merchants. Extremely dangerous for tourists.

In addition, crime in Mexico City thrives in slums, where the poorest of the urban population are barely surviving. Any side streets and territories with the same type of low-rise buildings are potentially dangerous. So be careful!

Dangerous Areas of Cancun

Cancun is a favorite vacation spot for thousands of tourists. It is one of the quietest cities in Mexico. But even here you can face dangers, you just have to move a little away from the hotels and deviate from popular routes.

The city is conventionally divided into two parts: Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone) and Downtown (Downtown). Downtown (Downtown) - these are residential areas familiar to us. And although the crime rate in Cancun is significantly below the national average, it is recommended to walk and live here in fenced areas with round-the-clock security at the points of entry.

Sona Rural is a rural area six kilometers from the city center, which until the 90s was notorious for the large number of slums and gangs operating there. Later it was landscaped, but the contingent in it remained the same. It is inhabited by ordinary Mexicans with a low income level. And if you don't want problems, avoid walking in the area whenever possible.

The outskirts of the city, an hour's drive from the beaches, are uncomfortable slums with cesspools in the yards, local authorities and beggars. And the highest risk of falling prey to burglars.

Fraud in Mexico: How to Avoid Getting Scammed

Fraud has become in Mexico a way of survival for a huge number of poorly educated and poor citizens.

For example, fake police officers can be found even in busy tourist areas. Therefore, if they suddenly approached you and began to demand to pay a fine, do not hesitate to ask and check the documents of the law enforcement officer. And be sure to get accurate information about what they decided to fine you for.

Dishonest boat guides are another category of citizens who overcharge their services and profit from inattentive vacationers. When they invite you to the boat, they tell you one price for a trip to dolphins or turtles, and at the end of the voyage - another, which is much higher than the original one. And to leave the boat, you have no choice but to pay. Therefore, negotiate the full cost of the trip in advance - this way you will save your money.

Remember that refuellers in Mexico do not have an official salary. Their bread is tips. So if you give an employee a large bill, you may not wait for the change. That is why you should calculate in advance how much you will refuel and prepare bills for payment and tips.

Card readers with video cameras in street ATMs - modern way robbery. They allow fraudsters to obtain your magnetic stripe data and your card PIN. Therefore, in order not to lose money, use ATMs in bank branches or located in shopping centers. And do not give preference to credit cards with a large limit, but debit cards with a limited amount of funds on them.

Sellers of exotic goods and animals are another category of citizens with whom it is better not to do business in Mexico. The fact that you were sold a product made of jaguar skin, turtle shell or quetzali feathers does not at all guarantee the legality of the transaction. Checking things and finding similar goods in them when leaving the territory of some states can result in confiscation, a serious fine, and even imprisonment.

Kidnapping in Mexico for ransom

In 2020, Mexico set a sad record: the country took first place in the world in the number of kidnappings. At the same time, the number of such crimes is still very significant. So, in the first half of 2020, 867 people were kidnapped in the country.

The average ransom for a representative of a wealthy family is about $ 200,000. The relatives of the kidnapped are given no more than a month to collect the required amount. For an ordinary tourist, they can ask for $ 3000- $ 5000. But even after the payment of the required amount, the kidnapped people are often killed.

Currently, the crime rate in Mexico is so high that absolutely everyone is at risk - from wealthy tourists to relatives of gang leaders.

Compliance with the following simple recommendations helps to avoid the fate of being kidnapped:

• use the services of official taxis;
• Don't meet on social media or go on blind dates.
• do not display expensive items or jewelry that testifies to your well-being;
• avoid slums;
• do not hitchhike;
• try to walk with people you know or with a guide.

In the northern and central states of Mexico, the number of abductions of girls aged 15-17 with the aim of their subsequent sale to brothels is steadily increasing. So do not attract undue attention to yourself with revealing clothes and relaxed behavior.

Organized crime groups in Mexico

The sphere of activity of Mexican organized criminal groups is illegal transportation and trafficking in drugs. The damage to the country as a result of the division of spheres of influence by them is so great that in 2020 one of the local companies even offered everyone who wanted to get insurance against organized crime. In addition, organized crime in Mexico is closely intertwined with government agencies and the police.

Drug cartels - criminal organizations of various scales and levels of influence, literally divided the country among themselves like a pie. Their confrontation leads to massive armed conflicts, becomes the reason for kidnapping and large-scale robberies.

In addition to drug cartels, there are also a lot of small gangs in the country.

Changes in organized crime in Mexico

Organized crime in Mexico dates back to the 1980s. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, organized criminal groups on the territory of the country have undergone major changes. Their result was a significant expansion of the cartels' spheres of activity due to theft of software, the supply of live goods to brothels, smuggling and illegal import of weapons.

The low standard of living and the inability to provide a normal life through legal means leads to the fact that the smuggling or cultivation of marijuana becomes a source of income for huge areas of Mexico. At the same time, entire states are involved in internecine wars, as a result of which thousands of people die.

Starting in the 2000s, due to political changes in the country and the loss of previous loyalty from the authorities, cartels, in fact, challenged the state. All their forces were directed at protecting drug trafficking routes. And in this matter, they did not disdain any methods.

In recent years, the appetites of the cartels have begun to spread to the central regions of Mexico. And this endangers the national security of the country.

The process of globalization in the Mexican drug business

Guatemala, Belize and Honduras are the countries that have become the zone of interests of the Mexican drug cartels in the 21st century. With extensive connections in Africa and Asia, Mexican groups have seriously strengthened their positions and have achieved the unification of local criminal structures with Colombian ones. Taking advantage of the patronage of state authorities and representatives of the police, they formed stable groups, famous for their particular cruelty.

The experience of the mid-2000s has shown that even after the defeat, such cartels do not disappear, but revive under new names and with new leaders at their heads. At the same time, the structures that control the drug markets in the United States began to enjoy special influence.

Consequences of the merging of state and criminal structures

One of the reasons that complicates the fight against organized crime in Mexico is the involvement of government officials and the police in its structures. Indicative in this regard is the arrest in 2008 of the head of the Mexican anti-drug department, Noe Ramirez, who was convicted of links with the underworld and receiving bribes from the largest cartel, Sinaloa. Reporting on planned police operations, he has for years undermined all efforts to combat drug trafficking in a particular region. And this is far from an isolated case. A wave of such revelations seriously undermined the public's confidence in the authorities.

Currently, the drug mafia in Mexico is not just flourishing, but partially absorbing the state: gang leaders often become the heads of municipalities, and corrupt judges and police officers ensure their safety.

Corruption problems in Mexico

According to a 2020 study by Transparency International (TI), Mexican political parties were the most corrupt. One of the reasons for corruption in the country is the huge amount of bribes offered to officials.

The authorities never tire of recalling the negative impact that corruption in Mexico has on the country's development:

• public order is violated;
• weakened democratic institutions;
• damage to the economy.

At the same time, the problems of general prosecutorial supervision in Mexico are very acute - the dishonest servants of Themis simply turn a blind eye to the existing violations of the laws. So, as a result of one of the personnel purges in the country, 1,200 police officers were dismissed.

Against this background, the creation of a coordinating council in 2020, which includes the Ministry of Civil Service, the Federal Audit Service, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Tribunal for Administrative Justice, looks logical.

Speaking about which anti-corruption body was created in Mexico, it should be understood that this is not one organization, but a multifunctional structure consisting of several important sectors. The formation of a closed coordinating council will help to avoid penetration of criminal elements into the system of control and justice.

Social inequality in Mexico and related conflicts

According to research by Coneval (National Council for Social Policy), in 2020, 46.2% of the population lived below the poverty line in Mexico. At the same time, 14 billionaires live in the country.

The largest percentage of the poor is among the Indians - over 70%. Geographically, these are the southern states of Mexico. A sign of belonging to the middle class in a country is the presence of a washing machine in the house.

Representatives of the white population of the country predominate in leadership positions and among officials, which causes a negative reaction from the rest of the citizens.

Regressive taxes are one of the reasons for the significant stratification of Mexican society: the rich pay proportionally less than the poor. And this only reinforces the existing contrasts.

The increase in the number of women in the workforce has become a major problem in Mexico. Deciding that they were taking away their jobs, many men turned to violent action. And this is not only rape, but also murder. This phenomenon is called feminicide.

Penalties for various types of offenses in Mexico

The penalties for various types of offenses in Mexico are mainly determined by the Administrative Code of Mexico and the Federal Penal Code of Mexico.

Despite the high crime rate in the country, the death penalty has been almost completely abolished. Her replacement was life imprisonment for up to 70 years or more. Exceptions: treason to the Motherland during a war with foreign states, parricide, treacherous murder, arson, kidnapping, highway robbery, as well as piracy and serious military crimes.

Possession of more than 15 grams of drugs can result in a heavy fine and even imprisonment for up to 25 years.

For smoking in a public place, you can be fined $ 20-30. There are punishments in Mexico and for kissing in public places - for this you can be sent to correctional labor or fined. A smile or wink at a girl you don't know may be considered an attempted rape.

Cell phones in the country are allowed to be used only from the age of 14.

In Mexico, torture, flogging, confiscation of property, branding, and punishment involving the deprivation of body parts are officially prohibited. At the same time, the country lacks as such a system of consumer protection at the legislative level.

Law enforcement officials can detain you for a maximum of three days pending clarification.

Features of the work of the Mexican police

The Mexican Federal Police (abbreviated as PF) was created not so long ago - in 1998. It was based on such units as the financial and traffic police, as well as intelligence units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and military police brigades. The main function of the Federal Police is to combat drug trafficking in the country.

Due to the unfavorable environment, police in Mexico are generally well armed. Their uniforms are black or blue. In tourist areas, representatives of law enforcement agencies are quite sympathetic to visitors and provide all possible assistance to those who apply to them.

In 2020, the National Gendarmerie was formed, the main function of which was to ensure order in the border areas, on the territory of strategically important ports and airports, and oil centers.

In addition, the country has an active public police and civil self-defense groups.

Confrontation between the state and drug cartels in Mexico

Felipe Calderon is the leader of the Mexican state who went down in history as the man who declared war on drug cartels. The army and the navy became its mainstay. Information support was provided by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The result of numerous purges and arrests was the liquidation of several large drug cartels. At the same time, the leaders of these entities after their arrest were extradited to the United States, where they could not have been helped by the corrupt courts and prison authorities, as in their homeland.

However, at the cost of this war, more than 57 thousand civilians died, which led to the formation of an anti-war movement, as a result of which Enrique Peña Nieto came to power.

The methods of the new government are devoid of a forceful component. First of all, the country's leader showed his readiness to negotiate with the leaders of drug cartels, the result of which was a slight decrease in the level of violence in the regions controlled by them. In addition, the country focuses on the legalization of soft drugs, which deprives illicit traffickers of profits. For example, for a portion of up to 10 g, nothing threatens you.

The complexity of the fight against drug cartels is partly due to the fact that, despite their criminal activities, they never disdained charity, large donations to the church and invested in the improvement of the territories under their control. This still provides them with the support of the local population.

The government's response was to implement a national program for the social prevention of violence and crime, launched in 2020 and supporting the poorest segments of Mexican society. Thanks to this, the war on crime in Mexico received support from the local population. One example of program implementation is street improvement in Gomez Palacio, Durango state. Another example is the rebuilding of streets in the Nuevo Mexico area of ​​Torreón, Coahuila state. And more and more positive results!

How to make travel in Mexico safe: basic rules

Mexico is a country where you can easily be approached with a knife or a pistol in broad daylight. Moreover, the criminals will really be ready to use their weapons to take your wallet or phone.

The crime statistics in Mexico are depressing: according to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in 2020 the country took the second place in the number of violent homicides. Over the past ten years, about 200,000 people have died in the country and about 30,000 have gone missing.

Despite this, if a number of rules are followed, traveling in Mexico will become not only interesting, but also safe.

1. Try to give up wallets stuffed with cash and cards, temptingly protruding from the pockets of your trousers. You don't want to attract the attention of the robbers, do you? You should not put all the funds you have in one bag or pocket, so as not to lose everything at once. The best solution would be to store cash and cards in different places, moreover, so that they are not visible.
2. Do not take your laptop with you for a walk. It is better to keep the camera in a bag and take it out only at the moment of taking a photo. In this case, it is better to give preference to an ordinary digital "soap box" than expensive equipment - the chances of being robbed and losing the second are much greater. It is generally recommended to leave valuable property in hotel safes - it should be borne in mind that in poor areas local authorities can "confiscate" any valuable things for walking on their territory.
3. It is not recommended to attract undue attention to yourself with too expensive or revealing clothes - keep it simple and try to outwardly blend in with the crowd.
4. It is preferable to carry bags by hand, as belts are very often cut off, stealing property.
5. Carry a photocopy of your passport with you, leaving the original in a safe place.
6. It is recommended to call a taxi by phone and write down not only the car number, but also the taxi driver's license number. When traveling by your own or rented car, choose toll roads - they are the safest. Don't hitchhike.
7. Do not take photographs without the permission of local residents, especially Indians - this can cause extremely negative reactions.

Life in Mexico: Video